Cross and Berrington take Scotland over the line

Winner moves to third place on the Group B table, while Kenya slot in behind Afghanistan in second spot

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An unbeaten 51-run stand between Matthew Cross and Richie Berrington for the fourth wicket helped Scotland to a seven-wicket win over Kenya in their ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier 2015 Group B game at Grange Cricket Club in Edinburgh on Tuesday (July 14).

Having opted to bat, Kenya rode on contributions from Irfan Karim (46) and Morris Ouma (36 not out) to make 141 for 5 on a pitch that seemed to have some movement for the pacers early on and assistance for the spinners afterwards.

In response, Scotland got off to a poor start, losing Kyle Coetzer for nought off the third ball of the innings. But its batting line-up, spearheaded by Cross, showed no signs of nerves as it cruised past the Kenya tally in just 14.5 overs to move to third place on the table with four points, behind Afghanistan and Kenya.

Kenya would have hoped for a better show with the ball given how well its batsmen had done in the face of Scotland’s discipline with the ball, led by Con de Lange, who returned figures of 4-0-18-1, and Michael Leask, who bagged two wickets for 12 runs from three tidy overs. Had Kenya’s middle order come up with more runs, it could have improved its chances.

Still, Scotland would have felt a pinch when they lost Coetzer. Shrugging off the loss, Calum MacLeod, with an 11-ball 21, broke the shackles and that eased the pressure off Cross, who looked steady at the other end.

George Munsey arrived at the crease looking a bit out of sorts but eventually got into his groove and played the perfect ally to the in-form Cross en route a 55-run stand for the third wicket.

James Ngoche gave Kenya a glimmer when he got rid of Munsey, but that didn’t shake Scotland’s progress. Berrington made a 21-ball 34 to take some pressure off of Cross, who kept it simple and carried Scotland past the finish line.

Scotland’s next game is against Canada on Thursday. Kenya face UAE on Wednesday.